May 27, 2012

OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS I’VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT MY OLD FRIEND, SISSY SPACEK, AND HER NEW BOOK, “MY EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY LIFE” AND WONDERED HOW SHE WOULD TALK ABOUT HOW I DISCOVERED HER AND CHANGED HER NAME TO “RAINBO”!

“Back in 1968, I was recording an album under the name Shadow Mann for the legendary Morris Levy. During the recording of one of my tracks, a cute little girl with a giant guitar case, walked into the control room. Ron Haffkine ( Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show), who was producing my album, jumped up, introduced himself…and then he introduced me as Shadow Mann. He got our engineer, Brooks Arthur, to play the track back as I danced around the studio.

Sissy and I hung out over the next few months. She played me and Ronnie quite a few songs she had written, on a guitar that was almost as big as she was…but we didn’t hear that specialsong that could make her a star. Just before I left on a trip to California, a couple of free-lance writers Ron Dulka and John Marshall, brought a song to me that was a comment on the controversial John Lennon and Yoko naked LP album cover of “Two Virgins”. I suggested A few lyric changes and flew off to California for 10 days.

When I returned I was surprised that my partner, Kelli Ross, had signed Sissy to our record label and Ronnie Haffkine had started making plans to record her on the song, “John, You Went Too Far This Time!”, by the two writers who finished the song in my absence! After I heard her sing it, I knew why everyone was so excited!

When my album and Sissy’s single was finished, Morris Levy decided to send both of us out to promote our records at the same time…but not before one little thing. I convinced her to change her name to something more suitable for the times…a name that was opposite of “Shadow”. Sissy, bit her lip and agreed to let herself be known as, “Rainbo”.

May 26, 2012

In 1963, even though I just had a top ten hit with “MIDNIGHT MARY” by Joey Powers, royalties were slow coming in and Paul Simon (who was a song plugger at E.B. Marks Music at the time) suggested that I perform on “Hoot” nights at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village, in hopes of getting a paying gig.

Although I never got a job playing there, i remember sitting in the dressing room tuning up with Paul and Roger McGuinn, who were both playing guitar behind me and talking about different musicians I might hire to play on the “MIDNIGHT MARY” album. I told them I was going to use Al Gorgoni ( session guitarist for Bob Dylan and Van Morrison), Russ Savakis (bass player for Peter, Paul, and Mary), Charlie Macey (session guitarist for Carole King, Four Seasons), and Buddy Saltzman (session drummer for Carole King, Tim Hardin, Janis Ian)

When I told Paul and Roger I was looking for a banjo player as good as the one I saw on the Andy Griffith TV show. They looked at each other, smiled and said in unison, “Doug Dillard!”

Doug Dillard dies at 75; banjo player, member of the Dillards band

Doug Dillard played with his brothers in the bluegrass group, performed as a solo artist and collaborated with numerous other country, bluegrass, rock and pop musicians.

By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times May 18, 2012

Bluegrass banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs answered a knock at the door of his Nashville home in 1953 to find an eager-looking banjo enthusiast on the porch asking Scruggs to put a set of his special tuner keys on the young man’s instrument.“He was so gracious,” Rodney Dillard said of the reception his older brother, banjo player Doug Dillard, received that day from the father of the bluegrass banjo. “He sold him the tuners, then sat down at his kitchen table and installed them on the spot.”

Doug Dillard, who died Wednesday at 75, put those tuners and Scruggs’ influence to good use over a long career as a founding member of the Dillards bluegrass band, as a solo artist and in collaboration with numerous other country, bluegrass, rock and pop musicians.He and the band helped popularize bluegrass in the 1960s through regular appearances on “The Andy Griffith Show,” and they were important figures in the creation of what would become known as country rock music.”

Although I couldn’t get Doug for my session, or ever meet him in person, I became a lifetime fan! My condolences go out to his family, friends, and millions of fans around the world and to his widow Vikki Salee Dillard who has been my FACEBOOK friend for the last several years. My prayers are with you in your hour of sorrow.

May 23, 2012

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND TO MUSIC PUBLISHER DON WILLIAMS FOR GIVING ME TWO COMPUTERS WHICH I’LL HAVE NEXT WEEK! I’M KEEPING ONE AND GIVING THE OTHER TO A LITTLE 9 YEAR-OLD BOY, WHOSE BROTHER AFTER GOING ON A KILLING SPREE, WAS CAPTURED IN OF ONE OF THE LARGEST MANHUNTS IN CALIF. HISTORY!

THE LITTLE BOY, SPENDS MOST HIS FREE TIME IN THE LIBRARY ON THE COMPUTER AWAY FROM HIS ABUSIVE FATHER, OR IN THE SAFE HOME OF A LOVING FRIEND OF MINE, WHO WILL KEEP HIS COMPUTER FROM BEING SOLD FOR DRUGS.

I’M GETTING MY NEXT INJECTION FROM DR. LAI NEXT WEEK, BUT I HAVE OTHER PRESSING MATTERS AT HAND. THIS QUARTER I HAVEN’T RECEIVED ONE PENNY IN SONGWRITING ROYALTIES, DUE TO ADVANCES THAT HAVEN’T BEEN PAID BACK…AND I’VE RUN OUT OF MONEY AND NOW FOOD.

WHILE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AN HONEST ACCOUNTING FOR SONGS OF MINE THAT MICHAEL JACKSON RECORDED, MY ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME IS FROM THE SALE OF MY BOOK. ” I DID IT FOR A SONG”, WHICH I RECEIVE IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU LIKE WHAT I’M WRITING I HOPE YOU’LL CONSIDER BUYING ONE…IT’S ONLY $9.99

IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT I’M WRITING ABOUT ROBIN GIBB MAKING HIS TRANSITION TO THE OTHER SIDE, WE ALL WERE SO HOPEFUL WHEN THAT HE CAME OUT OF HIS COMA AFTER LISTENING TO HIS OWN MUSIC, HE WOULD RECOVER COMPLETELY…ONCE AGAIN GOD HAD OTHER PLANS.

AS I WRITE THIS I’M LISTENING TO “TOO MUCH HEAVEN” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nREV8bQJ1MA&feature=related, TEARS ARE UNASHAMEDLY ROLLING DOWN MY FACE KNOWING THAT ROBIN JUST RETURNED TO US BRIEFLY TO REMIND US THAT LOVE IS ALIVE IN ALL OF US. “WE’RE LIVING IN A WORLD OF FOOLS BREAKING US DOWN…WHEN THEY ALL SHOULD LET US BE…”

I CAN BARELY LISTEN TO THE BEE GEES SING, “I CAN SEE BEYOND FOREVER, EVERYTHING WE ARE WILL NEVER DIE…LOVE IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING!”

THANK YOU FOR SAYING SO MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT WE COULDN’T SAY FOR OURSELVES

Just three days after the world of disco music lost Donna Summer, the New York Times has just reported that Robin Gibb has died today at age 62, due to complications of cancer. Four decades of fans in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who loved the music of The Bee Gees, will remember Robin Gibb as a dynamic music legend and part of a trio, the brothers Gibb, who sold over175,000,000 records. .

In April, Gibb had been in the news, as his battle with cancer had diminished his strength, and he was in a coma, with little expectation of emerging. Last month, music writer Artie Wayne reported that doctors had only given Robin a 10% chance to awaken. Gibb’s family and fans across the world were said to be praying for him, with hopes for complete recovery even going forward. On April 27, Wayne reported that Gibb had emerged from his coma, and had responded to having heard his own music, with the Bee Gees, played repeatedly. Robin awoke from the coma and lived another 3 weeks in another unexpected miracle.

*

NOW HERE IS THE SERIES WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR “BEYOND AMERICAN BANDSTAND”, FEATURING BUNNY GIBSON, KENNY ROSSI, ARLENE SULLIVAN, BOB CLAYTON, JUSTINE CARELLI, GREGORY AND LAWRENCE ZARIAN WHICH INCLUDES A VIDEO OF THE ORIGINAL BANDSTAND DANCERS AS THEY THEY ARE TODAY!

Dick Clark said that the most frequently asked question was “Whatever happened to.the American Bandstand regulars”. Dick said he wished he had a nickel for every time he was asked that question throughout the years.

Dick was like a father figure to all of us. American Bandstand became our home. It was more of a home for some of us than our own homes. There was a life force that I felt the first time i entered the two green doors of “Studio B” at 46th & Market Streets in Philadelphia. it was magical and I felt it was home for me. For the first time, I felt like I belonged.

My life was forever changed that day when I was thirteen and decided toplay hooky from school and find my way to American Bandstand. That first day on the show, I was so excited and nervous, I just sat in the bleachers watching Dick Clark and the regulars I saw dancing on television from my home in Darby, Pennsylvania: I was in awe seeing, in person, Dick, Arlene & Kenny, Carol Scaldeferri, Frani Giordana, the Beltrante sisters, Eddie Kelly, Johnny Alamia, Steve Colarnero and all the other famous dancers!

When Eddie Kelly’s partner, Mary Ann Cuff, didn’t show up one day, Eddie asked me to dance. I was thrilled and all the practicing with my bannister and refrigerator door paid off as we jitterbugged well together. We were both tall so we had a good fit.

I became a “Regular”. It was official when I received my first fan letter. It was the first of many and soon I would see myself in teen magazines listed in “Popularity Polls” along with Elvis and the other great rock ‘n’ roll artists of the day. Magazine articles were written for me like “Social Butterflies are for the Birds” in “16″ Magazine and it was always a surprise to see what article I wrote but didn’t write!

But the biggest surprise AB gave me was the day Don Travarelli saw me dancing on the show. He fell in love with me watching me dance and set out to come to the show after he practiced his dancing with his niece, Robin. Don was twenty years old and never managed to get into the show because the age requirements were 14 to 18, but he did find a way to meet me and the rest is history!

Dick Clark and American Bandstand played “Cupid” in my life and Don and I were married. I was sixteen at the time and had my Mom’s permission to marry just as long as I finished high school, which I did.

Don and I had two daughters, Angel and Maria, and now four grandchildren: Lea, Chirstopher, Alexis & Nicole. I am glad Don watched AB and not another channel!

Dancing on Bandstand has come full circle for me as I became an actress and dancer eventually moving to Los Angeles. I felt blessed to be on “Glee”, “How I Met your Mother”, “The Back-up Plan” and “CSI – Las Vegas” as a dancer. I was more excited than anyone on the set remembering my teenage years dancing on Bandstand.

Recently, being on “Dancing with the Stars” was another special moment going full circle from being on the #1 dance show as a teenager in Philly to the #1 dance show in 2012. DWTS gave a special Tribute to Dick Clark and we were honored to be a part of that Tribute. Carrie Ann Inaba became an “Honorary Bandstand Club” member that day and she said “If it wasn’t for us, there wouldn’t be a “Dancing with the Stars”. Now that is quite an honor- thank you Dick! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPRzpRNjWos

As an actress, I have many credits on television and film. My recent films are “Lola’s Love Shack” and “The Killing of Leonard Riley” and just recently shot a “Goya” commercial in Puerto Rico. And, for charity, I’ve hosted the American Heart Associations’s “Heart Ball”, ”America on Wheels” Museum Gala and many other events. My next Rock ‘n’ Roll event, created by Frank Cona, will be for the Veterans in Detroit and will feature the Edsels, Mitch Rider, “The Reflections”, plus Jay and The Americans.

One of the best “full circle” moments in my life is when i hold “Dance Contests” for foster children through “Day of the Child”. Each year, I have the pleasure of seeing one thousand foster children come to the event, (some of them not feeling good about themselves) and leaving the event feeling the “joy of dancing” and the “joy of how special they are inside”. At the end of the day, nobody wants to stop dancing! Each child is a “Winner” in my contest. All they have to do is “shake their booty” and they get a “prize”. I raise these prizes throughout the year and welcome all support for “prizes” and being a “mentor” for these precious foster children.

Looking back when I first came out to California in the “80′s”, I went to see Dick at DC Productions. When he saw me walk through the door, he didn’t say “hello”. Dick said “I knew I’d see you again”. I think when Dick saw my smiling face dancing in 1959 and he saw that smile continue as I danced to 1961, he knew I would be back in front of the cameras. He could see my dancing joy and happiness – which has lasted a lifetime.

Thank you Dick. Thank you American Bandstand. There is a life “Beyond Bandstand” but the experience of dancing on American Bandstand has lasted a lifetime.

Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi danced together on American Bandstand for a little more than a year. At the height of their popularity, they received as many as 500 letters a day. Arelene, whose mother was a devoted fan, claims she danced on the show “to get my mother’s attention.” Within three months, Arlene was a regular appearing five days a week. “I was always surprised,” she says,” that people wanted my autograph. I danced on a TV show; nothing I did was different than kids were doing in their basements. But maybe that’s why we were so popular. We were them, and they were us.”

Justine Carelli and Bob Clayton were the dream couple of the show, the star struck lovers. Justine started dancing on Bandstand in 1956, when she was still in junior high school. She spent almost an hour, five days a week, on the fifteen-mile bus ride from her school to the WFIL studios just to dance. Meanwhile, in Wilmington, Delaware, a young high school school student, Bob Clayton, was watching the show and falling in love with Justine. He made his way to the show in 1957 and asked Justine to dance. Letters poured in, and Justine and Bob became the most popular and best known couple on the show. The couple was on magazine covers, in newspaper articles, and appeared at scores of dances and shows.

American Bandstand was an amazing time for us. I was on the show 1st and then invited my twin brother Lawrence to join me and for the following years, ( 1981-1987 ) we were known by Dick Clark and the rest of the gang as “The Twins” on AB. Even when Dick went on to host ” The Other Half ” he would say, here are ” The Twins “.

With our dance partners, we were introduced to music legends. To see them get their start on AB was incredible. To be part of the Jackson 5 reunion Tour ” Triumph ” to Sheena Easton, Adam and the Ants, just to name a few was a dream come true. We were introduced to the entertainment industry by dancing on a show that people across the country watched every Saturday. We were local celebrities and it was the best of times.

Dick Clark, was always, kind and interested in what was going on with his ” Twins ” We learned from being on the show for those years, what it was like to be part of a TV family. We have taken all that we learned into our careers today. For the past 15 years, Lawrence has been known as TV’s The Fashion Guy. He coined the phrase, ” Dress up or Dress Down ” into an industry Go to saying…. From Red Carpets to every award show in town, from Sandra Bullock-his dear friend, to Meryl Streep, He has talked the talk and walked the walk with the biggest and brightest in the business. He can be seen on Entertainment Tonight, weekly and was on ” Live with Regis and Kelly ” now, ” Live with Kelly ” as their go to Fashion-Guy, make over guru.

Since my days on American Bandstand I have modeled all over the United States and Internationally. I became a successful actor, commercially ( over 100 spots) and I have guest starred in tv and film: HBO’s Entourage, CBS’s The Mentalist, ABC’s General Hospital, to name a few to feature films, most notably, the award winning www.ReconciliationMovie.com. I am also a motivational speaker that carries into the Lifestyle show I host Healthline. Together we work constantly. From Guest starring roles on FX’s Nip Tuck to hosting the weekly live talk show, ” The Zarian Forum ”

We are grateful for the life changing experiences we learned from our years on American Bandstand. We will forever be grateful for the time we spent with our Friend, Dick Clark. Our hats off to you and as you did after every show, we are saluting you back, Sir…a true pioneer, a true legend.

Before 26 Grammys, an Emmy, 7 Oscar nominations, and becoming one of the most successful record producers of all time (“Thriller”, “We Are The World”), before producing hit TV shows, (“Jenny Jones”, “Mad TV”, “Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air”) and films (“The Color Purple”, “Listen Up”), Quincy was first and foremost a musician of the highest order!

“People have called me a jazz musician, but that’s ludicrous. I have yet to figure out what a jazz musician is.”

Q was the first high level black executive to work for a major record label in the 60′s, when he was producing Leslie Gore (“It’s My Party”, “You Don’t Own Me”) for Mercury records. Although Kelli Ross and I ran his publishing companies, in New York for years, I didn’t really get to know him until I moved to California and worked for Warner Brothers music. in 1972 he wanted to concentrate on writing and scoring more films.

He had already done, “In Cold Blood”, “Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice”, “Cactus Flower”, “The Getaway”and “Cotton Comes To Harlem”, a highly successful “Blaxpoitation” film. In his eagerness to take Hollywood by storm, he had over committed himself and promised his friend, Sam Goldwyn, Jr. to do the music for “Come Back Charleston Blue”, the follow up to “Cotton”, although he was weeks behind in scoring another film.

The usually cool “Mr. Jones”, was in a panic and needed a Black composer fast, or risk facing an embarrassing situation. He called me and asked if I’d do personal favor for him and help him out of a jam. The first person he wanted me to approach was one of our Warner Brothers writers and Atlantic artist, Donny Hathaway, who was riding high with his first album and singles, “The Ghetto” and “Where Is The Love” (with Roberta Flack). I remember Donny, in his Kongol Cap and me in my “Superfly” hat, “bopping” into a screening of the film and leaving with an enthusiastic commitment from Donny, which got Quincy off the hook!

Q said that he would let me have his screen credit as musical consultant if I could continue to help to put the soundtrack together. Needless to say I jumped at the chance! Although I just learned how to drive, knowing that Quincy didn’t drive at all, I volunteered to take us wherever we had to go over the next hectic month. Although he seemed nervous and at times held onto the dashboard for dear life, he never said anything about my driving! He did, however, introduce me to some of the most important men in Hollywood, and gave me a tip on how to deal effectively with them.

“Use “fuck” in your conversation every once in a while to get their attention!”

While driving around he also clued me in on what I could expect from life itself! We were both between wives, and hung out with football Hall of Famer, Jim Brown, and “Hair” director Michael Butler, who always had a party going on. We also were warmly welcomed at “The Candy Store”, “The Factory” and the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills hotel, where he introduced me to some of the most incredible women in the world! I remember one actress in particular, who was as emotionally disturbed as she was beautiful. On one of our drives I told him I was falling in love with her, he just shook his head and said,

“She can be saved…but do you want to be her savior?” A question I’ve asked of myself on several occasions, concerning other complex relationships I’ve had since then.

He also showed me how to deal in social situations with the”Soul Handshake”, which can be a very elaborate and varied ritual. Q had a simple way of handling it. He’d grab the shaker’s hand with both of his hands and hold them until the “shaker’s”urge went away. A method I’ve continue to use to this day.

On long drives I took the opportunity to pop in an 8 track and play a song or two I was promoting. This usually led to a discussion about music. I tried to interest him in covering a couple of songs by Sly and The Family Stone, which he passed on, saying he liked their tracks but the songs weren’t melodic enough for him. He laughed and said,

“I like my music, like my women…pretty on the top and funky on the bottom!”

When I complained about the quality of the 1972 state of pop music, Q said,

“The Pop market always comes back to classically influenced music…when a genre goes as far as it can go, that’s the only place where it can go.”

35 years later, his words still ring true. Today, Rap, Hip-Hop and Pop artists are incorporating more and more long passages of classically influenced music into their recordings, including Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Michael Buble’ , John Legend, and Rihanna.

Even though I haven’t seen Q in years, I remember the time that we spent together as one of the highlights of my life! I read something recently he said to his critics that inspires me whenever I get low on self esteem.

“Sometimes a missed opportunity can make a deeper impact on the soul than an opportunity that’s been taken”.

In the early 60′s while I was trying to become a Rock and Roll Star, Martin Luther King, Jr. was going to jail on a regular basis for leading peaceful Civil Rights demonstrations in the deep south against segregation.

I’ve never admitted it before, but I was one of those “Negroes” who thought that King’s actions would hurt those of us who were trying to assimilate into a “White Society”. I remember on one of his trips to the north, to raise money for the movement, he came to Thessalonia Baptist Church in the Bronx, where I was a member.

I was 19, and still living at home with my Mother and Grandmother (who I called Gooma), and “Gooma” insisted that I go to a special Sunday afernoon service where Dr. King was speaking. When I said, “What do I want to see that troublemaker for?”

Gooma snapped back, “Jesus was a troublemaker!…but wouldn’t you have liked to have seen him if you had the chance?” There was nothing I could say…so I agreed to go as long as I could leave before he spoke, so I could make it down to Greenwich Village to meet my Beatnik friends at the Cafe Figaro. Starting that afternoon, when my downtown pals couldn’t stop talking about Rev. King and how I missed a chance to not only hear him speak, but to possibly meet him, I started to look at him…and myself differently.

As the months passed, I learned more about the great man and started to develop a social conscience. Through the years I’ve seen his influence not only affect our people, but all people…all over the world! Even though I didn’t actually meet him, I’m grateful to have seen him and breathed the same air that he did…if only for a few moments!”

January 15, has always been a special day since it’s Gooma’s birthday as well as Martin Luther Kings’. God bless You doctor King and thank you Gooma, without each of you I would be a lesser person than I am today!

“When the sit-ins started, the black community was on the move marching peacefully, but when they tried to block entrances they were hauled off to jail. Lunch counters were closed but things were pretty quiet except for the white folk. I knew a lot of the Raleigh Police Force and they let me have the run of the main street with my camera and kept whites on the opposite side, away from the demonstrators.

I did not want things to change, and yet I knew something was terribly wrong and things had to change. I got into a “discussion” with an older well off white man, who told me and others that “he wasn’t going to eat with no damn niggers.” I said whats the difference. Mary, your Maid, who catches the bus every day to come clean your house, look after and feed your kids, cook supper for you, the Mrs. and the kids before she goes home at night hasn’t killed you yet. The man said nothing. Maybe at that point we both began to look at things differently.

There was a hamburger place downtown called Scotties. One day four blacks and two whites came into the place to sit-in. Scottie took their orders and brought the four blacks their food, then came around the counter and got the two white guys by the scruff of the neck and threw them out the door, saying “the law says I have to serve these people, but I don’t have to serve you.”

I worked in the black section of Raleigh, NC selling insurance in the early 60s. One day I went in to a black restaurant at the height of the sit-ins and asked the guy if he served white people. He said “yeah, I guess I have to.” Everyone, who had gotten quiet when I walked in, broke out in laughter. I can’t sing, so I had to get em with humor.

When Dr. King was killed in 1968, I cried. That should never have happened. As the years have gone by, and I have grown in character, I have grown to admire Dr. King even more. Any black man who would face a mob of angry whites in the south had guts and was truly a Man.”

May 22, 2012

*

AS I WRITE THIS I’M LISTENING TO “TOO MUCH HEAVEN” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nREV8bQJ1MA&feature=related, TEARS ARE UNASHAMEDLY ROLLING DOWN MY FACE KNOWING THAT ROBIN JUST RETURNED TO US BRIEFLY TO REMIND US THAT LOVE IS ALIVE . I CAN BARELY LISTEN TO “”I CAN SEE BEYOND FOREVER, EVERYTHING WE ARE WILL NEVER DIE…LOVE IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING!”

THANK YOU FOR SAYING SO MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT WE COULDN’T SAY FOR OURSELVES…

Just three days after the world of disco music lost Donna Summer, the New York Times has just reported that Robin Gibb has died today at age 62, due to complications of cancer. Four decades of fans in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who loved the music of The Bee Gees, will remember Robin Gibb as a dynamic music legend and part of a trio, the brothers Gibb, who sold over175,000,000 records. .

In April, Gibb had been in the news, as his battle with cancer had diminished his strength, and he was in a coma, with little expectation of emerging. Last month, music writer Artie Wayne reported that doctors had only given Robin a 10% chance to awaken. Gibb’s family and fans across the world were said to be praying for him, with hopes for complete recovery even going forward. On April 27, Wayne reported that Gibb had emerged from his coma, and had responded to having heard his own music, with the Bee Gees, played repeatedly. Robin awoke from the coma and lived another 3 weeks in another unexpected miracle.

May 21, 2012

Arlene Sullivan and Kenny Rossi danced together on American Bandstand for a little more than a year. At the height of their popularity, they received as many as 500 letters a day. Arelene, whose mother was a devoted fan, claims she danced on the show “to get my mother’s attention.” Within three months, Arlene was a regular appearing five days a week. “I was always surprised,” she says,” that people wanted my autograph. I danced on a TV show; nothing I did was different than kids were doing in their basements. But maybe that’s why we were so popular. We were them, and they were us.”

Justine Carelli and Bob Clayton were the dream couple of the show, the star struck lovers. Justine started dancing on Bandstand in 1956, when she was still in junior high school. She spent almost an hour, five days a week, on the fifteen-mile bus ride from her school to the WFIL studios just to dance. Meanwhile, in Wilmington, Delaware, a young high school school student, Bob Clayton, was watching the show and falling in love with Justine. He made his way to the show in 1957 and asked Justine to dance. Letters poured in, and Justine and Bob became the most popular and best known couple on the show. The couple was on magazine covers, in newspaper articles, and appeared at scores of dances and shows.

AFTER I POSTED MY TRIBUTE TO DICK CLARK , MY LONGTIME FRIEND AND PUBLICIST BOBBI COWAN PUT ME IN TOUCH WITH BUNNY GIBSON, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL “AMERICAN BANDSTAND DANCERS” WHO TOLD ME THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION WAS, “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE AMERICAN BANDSTAND REGULARS? DICK SAID HE WISHED HE HAD A NICKLE FOR EVERY TIME HE WAS ASKED THAT QUESTION THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.

May 21, 2012

May 21, 2012

COME ON CHER…YOU CAN’T BE 66 YEARS OLD TODAY! I FIRST MET YOU WHEN YOU WERE BARELY OUT OF YOUR TEENS AND I STARTED PITCHING SONGS FOR YOU TO RECORD. I WAS SO PROUD WHEN YOU CUT “FLASHBACK”, THE SONG I CO-WROTE WITH ALAN O’DAY.

YOU SOUND AS GOOD NOW AS YOU DID THEN…I HOPE I LOOK AS GOOD AS YOU DO WHEN I’M YOUR AGE…IN TWENTY OR SO YEARS. (LOL)